Fresher's Zone

Corporates need to hire more women

For decades now, even before the 'multitasking' jargon started doing the rounds in corporate offices, women in India have been playing multiple roles in their routine life. Be it a daughter giving a helping hand to the mother in the daily chores or a sister playing mentor to the younger siblings or a wife complementing the bread earning husband or a mother managing the house and the household budget or finally a working woman who does all these alongside a successful professional career - women have been playing every role with poise and to perfection. Women, in India are known for maintaining a healthy work- life balance.

Margaret Thatcher once said that - "If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman". This belief is vindicated by the way women are perceived in corporate India. The MD of one of the largest recruitment firms in the country believes that there are many reasons why more women should be hired in organisations today. Some of them are listed below.

Top reasons why we should hire more women:

• Stability: Women do not change jobs frequently and tend to grow with the organisation
• Quick learners: Women are eager to learn and are quick on-the-job learners
• Adaptability: Women adapt to change very well and make the most of a given environment
• Attitude: Women generally have a positive attitude most of the time and usually hold the attention of people better than men.
• Articulate: Women, more often than not, are very articulate and expressive

Success stories

Naina Lal Kidwai, the Chief Executive Officer of HSBC in India was the first Indian woman to graduate from the Harvard Business School. The Fortune Magazine listed Kidwai among the worlds top 50 Corporate Women from 2000 to 2003.

Indra Nooyi, the President and Chief Financial Officer of PepsiCo is the highest ranked Indian-born woman in the United States. Nooyi, who has a degree in Management from Yale and a career span that includes stints at the Boston Consulting Group and Motorola, attributes much of her success to her upbringing in India.

Ms. Chanda Kochhar who ranks 37 in this years list of the world's most powerful businesswomen, joined ICICI in 1984 in the Project Appraisal division. Today, she is the Deputy Managing Director and heads the Retail Banking Division at ICICI.

Although women are increasingly making their mark in the typically male dominated work place, only two per cent of women comprise the managerial workforce in India. While the current workforce demographics indicate that nearly 50 per cent of the working population will comprise of women, very few jobs in the market would be gender specific in the near future.

A survey conducted by the Association of Management Development Institutions in South Asia found that close to 40 per cent of chief executives considered advancement of women in the workplace to be critical. This was reflected in the fact that three out of every 10 Indian women executives leave organisations because of a perceived lack of intellectual stimulation while the rest feel that they have to work much harder to prove their worth.

HR managers and strategists need to develop a clear understanding of the work related issues of women, like retention and career growth opportunities. Conscious effort has to be made in changing the typical male dominated mindset.

The way ahead

The increasing war for talented professionals added to the retention woes of corporates are forcing organisations to recognise more women in the workforce. What needs to be done alongside is to create more jobs for women at the entry level and then provide career growth options in order to groom them for greater responsibilities. The young generation of women are more independent, career minded and challenge seeking as compared to earlier generations.

It is about time that corporates rose to the challenge and created more jobs for them. At the same time, it is up to women to break away from stereotyped mindsets. A sales job for instance is widely perceived as a man's job but there is nothing stopping women from making it their forte.

Leading by example

A leading private sector bank, thanks largely to its CEO has made a name for itself by recognising female talent and putting forth women empowerment. Three of the five members of the banks' executive board are women, as are 13 of its 40 top managers. The fact that 30 per cent of its staff today are women, says the CEO, is a conscious choice driven by merit and not plain discrimination to men as such.

In essence, the bank today can proudly claim to have created a work culture free of gender bias and one where women are comfortable, welcome and empowered. The results are for all to see in the rising business fortunes of the bank.

The need of the hour is for women and corporates to see the potential in the other. On the one hand, it is up to the women to make the right career choices and break away from stereotyped mindsets and on the other hand, it is up to the corporates to aid them achieve it by creating more jobs for them and providing career development opportunities within the organisation.

T. Muralidharan is an alumnus of IIM-A
Rohit Shenoy is an alumnus of Cardiff Business School, UK

Courtesy : Hindu Opportunities